


Home is Where The Heart is

by AsAGayScientist



Category: Incredibles (Pixar Movies)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, Slow Burn, implied alcoholism, implied depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-08-25 20:55:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16668136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsAGayScientist/pseuds/AsAGayScientist
Summary: This fic is post Incredibles II. On the premise that while Evelyn spends a brief period in jail she is sentenced to house arrest, more specifically 'Home Incarceration'. Evelyn is also assigned a Probation Officer who may be too nosey for Evelyns taste. She is still working for DevTech but only in a remote position working from home only with pencil and paper. No electronics, limited communication, . With the betrayal of Winstons trust, the siblings agree to some separation while wounds between them heal. However, the new home Winston set Evelyn up in was once the residence of a familiar face ;)





	1. Empty

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fiction I've written in literally 10 years. It is a project for myself but I am hoping that I keep enough steam to keep going. I am really big on slow build up to Helen and Evelyns romantic relationship. I also have full intention of including sex scenes as the story continues, so I'm throwing that out there now if that isn't your jam. Thats totally cool, I will clearly mark those chapters. Also, I am going to throw it out there that I am receptive to criticism. But I hope folks enjoy it and that I have fun writing it. This first chapter is mostly set up.

The staleness of the empty house filled Evelyns nose as she stepped inside. Letting out an exasperated sigh she let her duffle bag slump from off of her shoulder on to the floor. The unfamiliar penthouse looked like a lifeless catacomb in that moment. It would be Evelyns proverbial tomb for the foreseeable future. The living room looked sterile as though it were a staged model for a realty company. While making her way through the living room she noticed moving boxes stacked in a corner. No doubt Winston hired professional movers to get all of her things out from their previous home as soon as possible. Ever since she was caught Winston spoke to Evelyn with an undertone of disappointment that stung her to her very core. 

At that moment she heard a bellowing laugh from outside. Leaning against the floor to ceiling windows Evelyn looked down at the street to see Winston schmoozing up to the police. Evelyn scoffed “You just can’t turn off the salesmen talk, can you?” The police were acting jovial towards him as though his Sister hadn’t just tried to destroy the entire city of Metroville just two months ago. Evelyn watched them from above until the cops said their farewells to Winston before getting into their cruisers to leave. For a moment Winston stood on the side walk about to get into his car just before turning to the building. He stood with his hands in the pockets of his blazer looking deep in thought as he stared up at the building. Evelyn gave a tired smile as she waved down at him while pressed against the window. Another moment passed before he stepped into his care. He hadn’t seen her at all. 

Evelyn and Winston had decided together that they needed space. It was hard but Evelyn could see how badly she had hurt Winston’s trust. Part of the deal that was offered by the court was that Evelyn was not to serve her time under house arrest at DevTech. But Winston hadn't challenged it all. He needed the distance and Evelyn was going to respect that. 

The penthouse he had set her up in wasn’t as stylish as her home at DevTech was but maybe she could order some more modern furniture to replace the stale array this place had. Winston said it was one in a series of penthouses he had on standby for potential clients or business partners to stay at while they conducted business together. Swiping her index ginger along the top of an end table she inspected the dust that was left sticking to her skin. She shook her head and sighed while brushing off her dirt covered fingers. “Well, I guess I’ll be hiring a cleaning lady too. Home sweet home my ass., this place feels like a forgotten hotel room.” Just as she rounded the corner of the end table to wash her hands Evelyns ankle shot with pain as a loud crack struck her ear drums. “Ah! FUCK!” She cried out while holding her self up on the arm of the couch. With clenched teeth Evelyn looked down at her ankle. And there, was that damned ankle bracelet. “Christ, not 5 minutes in and this goddamn thing is already a pain in the ass.”Air filled her lungs fast and hard as the throbbing continued. “I need a drink.”

In the kitchen Evelyn slowly went through the brown paper bags filled with groceries that had been left on the counter for her. “Please God, make sure Winston stuck to my list.” She pleaded as she began pulling goods out from the paper sack. Just then Evelyn pulled out a bottle of scotch and her eyes lit up. “Ugh, thank god” Evelyn quickly set the scotch down before rushing to the polished maple cabinets hastily searching for a glass snatching the first one she spotted. Picking up the bottle ready to tear into it Evelyn suddenly noticed a small golden ribbon attached to neck of the bottle. At the end of the ribbon was a small folded card. Evelyn stalled for a moment with the small card between her thumb and fore-finger. She was too nervous to read it. ‘Liquid courage first. Card later.’ She thought as she placed the card on the granite countertop. Lifting the bottle up she inspected the label ‘Bowmore: Single Malt Scotch Limited Edition. Islay, Scotland.’ This was an expensive bottle, even by Evelyn’s standards. None the less she swiftly poured a glass for herself and took a big gulp. Letting hot spiced breath roll out of her lungs Evelyn began to feel her limbs burn as the alcohol flowed through her veins. Over two months without alcohol left Evelyn crabbier and more irritable than usual.

Setting the glass down her gaze returned to the folded card laying on the counter. Cautiously, she picked up the card to read it.

 

‘To Ev,

 

DevTech hasn’t been the same without you. I will always have a place here for my little sister. Can’t wait to have you back.

 

With Love,

Winston’

 

Although the new rift between them was large Evelyn couldn’t deny the sincerity of the kind words her brother had left her. ‘He just needs time, thats all.’ She re-assured herself while taking a long swig of scotch. 

Realizing that she had hardly seen anything of her new home she began wandering around the penthouse. The living room was quaint not what she would have picked out but she wasn’t going to be entertaining anyone anytime soon. Upon opening a closet near the front door Evelyn noticed a pair of dark navy blue women’s slip ons that were three sizes too small for Evelyn. Before closing the closest door she gave the shoes a quizzical look. 

In a corner of the living room stood what looked like a tv stand. As Evelyn drew closer she spotted a dusty outline of where a TV once sat. “Well, I guess no one bothered to clean the place up before I got here.” She said with a sting of irritation in her voice. At that moment a a box of hers caught her eye. There, a long silky sleeve hung from the opening. Pulling the box close to her chest she glanced around her new surroundings taking her best guess as to where the master suite was. When passing the kitchen bar she paused. Looking down at the bottle of scotch she remarked “Oh no, you my friend are coming with me.” Taking a moment she carefully juggled her box of clothes, the expensive scotch In one hand, the empty glass in the other and the box of clothes in-between. 

Awkwardly Evelyn moved through the hallway juggling the three items. She noticed a small quest bedroom then what looked like a small office with a balcony. The last door at the end of the hall she shuffled her belongings before she leaned her back against the door. Working her way backwards the door opened into a luxurious master suite. King size bed, wall to wall closets, French doors to the balcony, floor to ceiling windows and what looked like a huge bath tub. ‘Huh, not too bad.’ She thought as she clumsily dropped the box of clothes onto the bed.

It was only 11am and it had already felt like a long day for Evelyn. Not only had she just been released from prison, she unpacked most of her belongings, which were mostly clothes, then had made a pretty impressive dent in the bottle of Scotch. After all that that huge marble corner tub was calling her name. Slowly Evelyn started unbuttoning her top as she let out a long winded sigh. ‘This is it. Day one of a 8 month sentence. This is going to be hell.’ She thought as she continued to slowly remove her clothes. The bath now steamy hot she sat at the edge of the tub gazing into the swirling bath water. ‘It’s what I deserve. I couldn’t even control a bunch of hypnotized freaks right.’ With that she smoothly slipped her thin legs into the simmering water. The water burned her skin in a way that hurt but she also loved. 

The last couple of months, since the arrest, she had felt empty. Sure at first she was mad. Really mad. The most livid she had ever remembered being. It was the embarrassment that killed her. ‘God damn Elastigirl and her ‘incredible’ family. I was so close.’ Evelyn stretched her arm out of the water towards the large bar of soap on the ledge of the bath. Steam rolled off her skin as she began to lather up the smooth buttery bar against her chest. ‘Now I’ll just be remembered as that dumbass who tried to steer a huge yacht into the city but got stopped by the very person who she had hired in the first place.’ Evelyn hadn’t anticipated how lousy she would feel. The disappointment in her brother’s voice. The long stares she got from people in the court house or the jail. The disappointment in herself. 

When was the last time she was happy? Evelyn paused a moment to reflect on the question. She was happy to have not been stuck in prison for the rest of her sentence. That was good. But on second thought, she wasn’t sure that was ‘happy’. The feeling that gave her was more relief that she and Winston had such a good lawyer. Relief she no longer had to sit in a lonely cell 23 hours a day. Sure, she was stuck here by herself. But it wasn’t literal prison. And that was a relief. ‘No. It had to have been… The evening that she and Winston got all the supers together. But after everyone had left for the night. With Helen.’


	2. Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn tries to relax in her new home but is interrupted by the unexpected visitor. Then she is faced with the repercussions of her action. Many of which she isn't ready to confront yet.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!  
> Critique is always welcome.

As suddenly as it had left her her consciousness returned jolting her awake. She felt as if she had been falling through air. A feeling that is unfortunate to have had experienced and one that she wouldn’t soon forget. With hot water cradling her body and warm scotch in her belly she had drifted off to sleep. “Well, one near death experience is enough for today” Evelyn joked as she pulled the plug at the bottom of the bath. 

While the bath water began to drain Evelyn looked over at her bottle of scotch and the empty glass. Grabbing the bottle by the neck she started to tip the bottle as though to pour it into the glass. At that moment she decided to just take a swig from the bottle. The liquor burned her throat in a soothing familiar way. 

Stepping out of the tub Evelyn was suddenly hit by a chill that crawled up her spine then out her limbs. The cold bit at her skin that she couldn’t stand. As quick as she could Evelyn dried herself off. ‘Fuck it's cold in here.’ Noticing the small linen closet next to the tub she hastily opened the door. Her eyes lit up at the sight of what looked like a brand-new big fluffy white robe. ‘Ah-ha, yes. Thank you!’ With the lush cozy robe on, Evelyn suddenly noticed a long auburn hair on the left sleeve. With a wrinkled nose of irritation she picked it up to inspect it. 

Suddenly the door bell rang. “Ugh, what now?” Evelyn was not in the mood for visitors, even if it were her own brother. Back in the living room Evelyn leaned her face against the door to look through the peep-hole just as the door bell rang a second time. “What the hell…?” Evelyn whispered. There, standing in front of Evelyns new front door was a stout police officer. Had one one of the other residents seen her and reported her to the police? Was there a fuck up in the paperwork and now she was being taken back to prison? “Hello?” The police officer called out in a sing song voice. Just as the officer wrung the bell a third time, Evelyn opened the door a crack. “Can I help you?”

The officer gave a big welcoming grin. “Oh, well hello there!” Her voice was light and chipper the words strung together with a heavy Minnesotan accent. The officer held out her hand for a formal introductory handshake. “Hi…” Evelyn muttered through the small opening between the door and the frame. “It’s an honor Miss Deavor. I’m Officer Susan Burk. I’ve been assigned as your Probation Officer!” Evelyn opened the door a little more to face the officer. “Oh. Yeah, sorry. They told me I would have a Probation Officer. Evelyn.” Evelyn shook Burk’s hand. “Oh yeah, it's a crucial part of any convict’s rehabilitation. You gotta’ have a probation officer these days, dontcha know. May I come in?” Asked the Officer as she hugged the clipboard she had with her to her body. Evelyn stepped aside and motioned the Officer in.

The Officer smiled as she walked in. Officer Burk had short black, slightly greying, curly hair that puffed out from beneath her police officer’s cap. She was hefty but had very strong looking arms and legs. Someone like Officer Burk could take out Evelyns spindly little butt in a heart beat. Not sure what to say or do for a probation officer Evelyn said the only thing that came to mind for being a half way decent host. “Can I offer you anything to drink?” Officer Burk continued to mosey through the living room as she responded “Oh, no thank you, I had myself a pop on the way over. This is a lovely place you got here. Oh for heaven’s sakes, its just you in this cute little place huh?” Evelyn sat on the arm of the couch watching Susan taking notes of her new home. “Yup. Me, myself, and I.”

Evelyn was curious to know what all the officer was writing down on her clip board. From what she could recall, her lawyer told her that the probation officer would be responsible for checking up on her during her house arrest. Checking for drugs, weapons, any signs that Evelyn might be plotting a nefarious come back. That and acting as somewhat of a counselor to make sure that after she served her time trapped in her new home she wouldn’t do something to get herself right back into this situation as soon as she got out. 

“Oh yeah, I could see myself living in a nice place like this in retirement. Just me and the husband, no yard to take care of anymore. Wouldn’t hardly even need a car I suppose. Oh yeah, real nice!” Between the bouncy accent and the un wavering jolliness of her voice Evelyn wasn’t sure she could handle this woman for too long. People who were unwaveringly pleasant got on Evelyns nerves. Also, not anyone like herself who was too often pessimistic. That would be too much in the other direction. She much preferred the company of those who were realists. Someone who could be hopefully encouraging but didn’t let that blind them to the truth. ‘Kind of like how Helen was.’ As soon as she thought of Helen, Evelyn shook the off. ‘No. That’s not happening anymore. SHE’S not happening anymore. She’s gone.’ Evelyn reminded herself. “Something on your mind?” Officer Burk questioned. “What? I mean, no. No, I’m okay.” Evelyn focused her attention back on Susan. “Is there anything you need from me? I imagine you want to have a look around the place. Make sure I’m not hiding anything.”

Officer Burk forcefully tore her gaze from the picturesque view of Metroville through the enormous windows. “One step a’head ofya’. The station already went through your whole place and your things just this morning before you got here.” Susan sat on the love seat that was across of the couch whose arm Evelyn was currently sitting on. “Now, Miss Deavor-”

“Evelyn. You can just call me Evelyn.”

“You betcha” Susan responded as she noted something down on the clipboard she was working on.

“Now, Evelyn, I just want to get to know ya’ a little better today, alright? So, looks here that your 33 and your birthday is November 5th. Oh, just about a month away!” She gave a hearty chuckle. Evelyn actually gave a small smile at the sincerity of the Officer.

“And I see here that you got your undergrad at MIT and your masters in Engineering at Berkley. Very impressive.” Officer Burk looked up from her clip board with an impressed gaze.

“Tinkering with machines, appliances, and electronics has always been my forte’.” Evelyn said smugly. She never like boasting about the wealth that started with her parents death and since has grown exponentially. No, instead she took pride in her academic success as well as the tech she single handily created to really put DevTech on the map.

“Oh yeah, that is sure interestin’. Really explains the success of DevTech.”

“Ha, yeah. You know, Berkley was a lot of fun. Sometimes I wish I could go back and just create to create. Didn’t have to worry about crowd pleasing or listening to stock holders.” Evelyn's eyes gleamed.

“Oh yeah, I could see how you would miss that. Sounds down right fascinatin’. Unfortunately that sorta’ work will have to wait while you’re doing your time. Do you have any other hobbies that you can explore while you’re under house arrest?” The Officer asked.

Evelyn’s glow diminished at the thought of not being able to create. “Well, I guess not much really. I mean, I collect bourbons, whisky’s and scotch. I’m also into fashion. Doesn’t hurt to look good right?”

“Sure, never does!” Officer Burk said dismissively as she kept her head down writing notes on her clipboard.

“Look-” Evelyn started. Susan looked up more attentively before putting her pen down. 

“I understand I can’t engineer anymore. No more building. I get that. But can I at least have some new drafting tools?”

“Now what are those exactly? Because I think it’s been very clear that part of your punishment that there is to be no building.” The Officer sounded very stern. Even with her somewhat unusual accent Burk sounded steely.

“Drafting tools. They are things like pencils, large sheets of paper, a compass- lets see, what else… Oh, aluminum rulers, a protractor erasers-” Evelyn excitedly listed tools off with the most enthusiasm she had had in two months.

Burk began to laugh and motioned with her hands to slow down. “Woah- whoah there, let me wright these down. I think I can arrange to get these for ya’ by the next visit.” 

Giving a sigh of relief Evelyn was grateful that the Officer was receptive. Although she was relieved to have time to herself she knew it was a two sided coin. She’d need something to fill her time. “Thank you. I may not be able to build, but I can at least design to keep myself busy. Maybe Winston will have some work for me.”

“Ya’ know? I think this is a good compromise. But let's move on to something a little more serious. We need to talk about charges and rehabilitation.” The Officer began as she to speak with seriousness.

“Arrested on Attempted Murder, worked down to a conviction as aggravated assault and um… Computer Crime Fraud. Oh yeah, thats pretty new, huh?” Susan asked looking up expectantly.

“It’s all new to me.” Evelyn shrugged.

“It looks like here, your aggravated assault charge was based on an assault on Elasitgirl.”

“We were in a fight. Falling out of a plane.” She said with an exhausted tone. She had been over this story a thousand time with lawyers. How could she forget?

“The statement says she was trying to save you. Falling out of a plane and all.” The older woman raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Evelyn with a knowing look.

“It’s her word against mine. They will always side with the super’s story. I’m just the lunatic that tried to destroy an entire city.”

“Report goes on to say that you took a plea deal to get this arrangement.” Officer Burk motioned with her pen to the pent house around them. 

“But it seems like you aren’t really ready to own up to your mis-doings.” 

“You sound like my brother.” Evelyn groaned. She began fidgeting in her seat starting to feel uncomfortable. 

“Funny you should mention him. Winston, dontcha’ know it says both of you used to live at DevTech. But it seems you live here now, huh?”

The Officer was starting to make Evelyn irritated. She stood up from the couch arm and furrowed her brow. “I know you are just doing your job but I am not really interested in discussing family dynamics with you.”

“Okay, I get it. That is a little sensitive for you right now. We have eight months to talk it out. Alright?” The police officer responded. 

Evelyn crossed her arms, holding herself tight in a defensive manner not saying anything. She had nothing to say. Evelyn knew that she would have to soon ‘play the game’ as it were to get the court off of her back by the end of eight months. But today that wasn’t about to happen.

“Before I leave today, I’m going to give you a couple of things. First, a typed list of rules that you are to follow while on house arrest. I’m sure your lawyer went over most of this with you already.” Burk stated as she flipped through the clip board. Once she found what she was looking for she slid the paper on to the coffee table between them. 

“The big ones are; no visitors who haven’t been approved by me first. No phone calls either, I’ll bring a phone every time I visit from here on out and you can make your calls while I do my inspection. Then the last big one may be obvious. But you can not leave the permitter. It covers your whole home and about 5 feet extra so you should be able to use your mail box and patio.”

“The second thing is a bit of homework for you. I want you to write an apology letter to your brother Winston, to the fine folks of Metrovile, and to Elastigirl.”

These words made Evelyns stomach feel like it had fallen through her very being, headed to the Earth’s core. Each person on the list was worse than the last. 

“What.”

“Oh for honest! You gotta start an open dialogue about what happened! Write the letter, send it to the person, and follow up with me next week when I come by.”

“That- it’s absurd! Who am I supposed to address the letter too? The literal city?” Evelyn was trying to avoid talking about Winston or Elastigril. The very thought of seeing Elastigirl face to face even in passing was too embarrassing to bare. Evelyn had done a complete 180 on Helen. They went from being jovial friends to sharing a near death experience due to Evelyns scheming betrayal. And then Winston. What was she supposed to say? ‘Sorry I completely ruined the image of the company you poured your life into.’

“You know, I took care of that part for ya’! Just send it to The Metroville Daily. But don’t worry, I wrote down the addresses for ya’ already. You just need to spend time working on those letters!” The pride in her work was showing in Burk’s delight in giving Evelyn this ‘To-Do List’.

Evelyn was not ready to talk about any of this and she wasn’t sure when or if she would be. This woman could not get out of her house fast enough. 


	3. Drowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn is left alone with her demons and too much alcohol to deal with an unexpected discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be short. My brother got married then the holidays happened so I didn't have much time to write. But I digress, I plan on getting more regular with these.

It had been a long day and Evelyn just wanted it to be over. She had gone most of the day without having eaten. Getting Officer Burk to leave was harder than she had anticipated. First Evelyn tried to act like she would start on the apology letters as soon as Burk left, then she tried playing the ‘It’s been a long day, better turn in early’ card, which ended in asking the Officer directly how long she had planned on staying.

  
That was done now. ‘Won’t have to see her anytime soon. That’s a problem for future Evelyn.’ she thought while watching the water boil on the stove. Her forehead began to throb. “Hair of the dog” Evelyn announced to the empty house. Swinging the bottle of scotch up to her lips she took two sizeable gulps. It wasn’t until now that she noticed what a large dent she had put into the bottle already.

  
‘Maybe there were some supplies in that office’ There had to be something in this place to keep her occupied. If she wasn’t drowning herself slowly in liquor it was her work. Without the either of those in Jail was hell. But it was possible that even house arrest might turn into a different kind of personal hell. There was a lot of uncertainty of what was going to happen in eight months. Except that she would be stuck here by herself, at the mercy of those who were allowed into her life as ordered by the court.  
A loud sizzling suddenly pulled Evelyn back into the moment. The water had begun boiling over seeping from under the lid down into the gas stove top. “Fuck!” Acting fast she turned the nob down with one hand while flinging the pot lid off with her bare hand. “God- Shit that burns!” Rushing over to the sink Evelyn ran cold water over her burning hand. She let out a long-tired sigh as she rested her forehead on the counter top. Feeling the water rush through her fingers Evelyn felt frustration boil just beneath the surface. She wanted to scream. It had been all she wanted to do since she started this whole thing. For a few moments she let herself disassociate until the anger seeped away with the pain in her hand.

  
Pulling her head up, Evelyn stood, turned off the sink, then turned around back to the stove. Today had day drained her of everything. It had been too much. She was just going to focus on drinking, making this god-damn spaghetti, then try to enjoy herself by sketching some designs. Maybe she was a little more drunk than she had realized.

  
With the bowl of spaghetti in one hand, the bottle of scotch in the other and the house arrest paperwork Burke had left under her arm, Evelyn wobblily walked into her new office. Swaying in the door way she looked around her new workspace. It was modest, but it would work. Book shelves lined the far wall a couple of which still had a few books on the shelves. There was a decent sized desk pushed against the wall with a small wooden chair. A corkboard hung above the desk with a significant amount of papers tacked on that Evelyn couldn’t quite make out from where she was standing.

  
Evelyn slowly and carefully placed the bowl, scotch and papers on the desk. There were some blank sheets of paper. They weren’t even close to the drawing paper she was used to but they would work. Some pencils were strewn about that appeared to have been chewed on to which Evelyn winced. As she started to clear the desk ‘Screen Slaver’ caught her eye. Her stomach dropped.

  
The pinned papers were newspaper clippings about The Screen Slaver. Evelyn’s mind began to race so fast she was unable to focus on just one thing. ‘WHO IS THE SCREEN SLAVER?’  
‘SCREEN SLAVER WREAKS HAVOC AGAIN’  
‘ELASTIGIRL HOT ON THE TRAIL’  
‘THE SCREEN SLAVER VS. THE SUPERS’  
“No, no, no, no, no!” alarmed words muttered through her lips.  
Tearing her gaze away from the cork board Evelyn saw the notes scattered all over the desk top with familiar writing. A semi-gloss photo caught her eye, it was of DevTech’s headquarters. Avoiding the over whelming panic that was crawling just beneath her skin Evelyn slowly reached for the picture. There was a whisper in the back of her mind that knew whose this was. It wasn’t just a photo, it was a post card. Evelyn was swaying now holding the postcard in hand, she was hesitating. Letting out a sigh she flipped the post card over.

“Bob, Violet, Dash & Jack-Jack  
Hope you guys are holding together without me. I miss you every day. See you soon.  
Love,  
Mom”

And there, at the bottom, was Helen's signature.

 

  
With clenched hands Evelyn pressed her fists into her face as she slowly let herself slide into the chair behind her.  
“Why. Why. Why. Why? I hate this. I can’t believe this.” She repeated as she lightly hit her eyes with the heels of her clenched hands. Recalling the shoes in the closet and the auburn hair on her robe. This was where Elastigirl worked to stop Screen Slaver. To stop her; Evelyn.

  
“My. Fucking. Brother. I can’t believe he put me here. With her-” Evelyn was choking on her words. It felt as though she was on the cusp of bawling but couldn’t. As furious as she was with Winston for undoubtedly forgetting that this was where Helen had been staying, Evelyn felt the immense hollowness in her heart when she thought about Helen. Anytime her mind wandered back to Elastigirl, Evelyn would snap her attention to something else. Anything else. But this was too much. Being in the same home where she once stayed. The connection made her feel as though Helen was right there with her yet miles away at the same time. Evelyn couldn’t shake it off.  
Eyes closed with her hands still holding her face Evelyn felt like the room was spinning. Warm tears ran down her face.

  
‘I just can’t believe this. I can’t believe I did this. I can’t believe she’s gone. And I’ll never see her again.’ Never again would she have a late night with Helen sharing her innermost thoughts while gazing into her dazzling brown eyes.  
Evelyn drunkenly sloppily wiped away the tears with her sleeve.

  
‘She was the closest friend I had had in years. And I did what I always do; I pushed her away.’

  
Giving a heavy sob Evelyn couldn’t help but be compelled to snatch the bottle of scotch once again.

  
“I wish I could just- I just need to tell her- That I don’t hate her. I miss her.” Evelyn said before sloppily drinking the last bit of scotch that was left. Her unsteady gaze happened upon the desk top. That’s when Evelyn spotted the instructions Officer Burk had given her.

  
“I need to tell her I miss her!” Evelyn exclaimed as she swiftly seized one of the gnawed pencils. With a puffy red face and teary eyes Evelyn was suddenly inspired. Perhaps it was a mix of the liquid courage along with her inner desperation that sparked this un-characteristic hopefulness.


	4. Getting Started

Morning sunlight slipped through the satin curtains onto Evelyn’s face. Wincing at the first sign of light Evelyn buried her face in to her pillow away from the sun’s scorn. With a pounding head Evelyn tried to figure out where she was exactly. Her left arm was hanging down off the edge of the bed, legs not even covered, her shirt only half way off. Evelyn let out an audible groan.

‘Why do I do this to myself?’

Forcing herself to face the suns presence her vision slowly came into focus. The enormous picture window had the curtains still drawn from the day before. Looking out she could see the tops of buildings and the bright sky.

‘What time is it?’

Evelyn lazily stretched her head neck up in search of a clock. There on the night stand lay an analog clock that read 1:35pm. But just behind the clock stood a picture frame with a photo in it of Helen and her family.

“Ugh, God.”

As quickly as she had seen it Evelyn reached over to slam the photo down against the night stand.

“One day down, eight months to go.” Evelyn exclaimed sarcastically as she stretched her arms up towards the ceiling.

Mornings and Evelyn didn’t get along. Afternoons were at least tolerable. Sitting at the kitchen bar Evelyn was trying to get herself to eat the toast and eggs she had made herself. The hang over she had left herself with was becoming a losing battle. The slightest turn of her head sent her vision spinning and her stomach turning.

Being mad at herself wasn’t going to get her anywhere, still it was in her personality. While picking at the scrambled eggs on her plate Evelyn tried to recall what had happened the night before. Winston had dropped her off at her new place, then she took a bath, which then got interrupted by her parole officer. Everything after that seemed blurry. She could recall being upset. Upset over –

‘Ha, that’s right. The letter.’ Evelyn thought to herself giving a chuckle just before taking a bite of her breakfast.

Unable to recall what she had wrote Evelyn was hesitant to give it further thought. Inside Evelyn was worried about what she had let herself express in that letter. It was odd, it was as though she already knew what she had written in that note but didn’t want to validate that fact by seeing it. Just ignoring it would be easiest.

That’s what she had always done.

After grad school Evelyn had tried dating at Winston’s suggestion. Winston had told her she needed more people skills, that there was ‘A whole ocean out there!’. Whatever that meant. For a while he had set up Evelyn with business women, he had met during his business trips. They were all nice people, beautiful, successful, but they were- boring. Winston tried to encourage Evelyn to give them a chance. The truth was Evelyn was scared. She was scared to open up to anyone no matter how enchanting they were.

There had been a woman she fell in love with during her time as an undergrad. That was the first time her brother tried to set her up with someone. After days of pestering, Evelyn finally agreed to meet with this ‘Absolutely outstanding intern’ he had just hired. While waiting in the office lobby for Winston to introduce her, the intern beat Evelyn to the punch.

Evelyn froze as soon as she saw a woman across the room making a b-line towards her. With every clack of her high heels hitting the floor her silky brunette curls of hair bounced against her black blazer. As the woman drew closer Evelyn felt her cheeks burn with redness. There was nothing Evelyn could think to do to re-gain control of herself.

“Hi, are you Evelyn? I’m Holly.” The woman reached out to shake Evelyn’s hand. Evelyn took Holly’s hand in hers. The softness of Holly’s hand sent chills through Evelyn’s body. All Evelyn could do was stare at bashfully at Holly while trying to summon the words she wanted so desperately to cut the silence.

“Sorry. I saw you walk in and I guess I was just anxious to have lunch. So, I just had to come meet you myself. Your brother told me all about you.” Holly hurriedly explained. The nervousness in Holly’s voice made Evelyn feel a little better. A smirk grew on her face as she began to regain her confidence.

“Only good things I hope?” Evelyn chuckled.

Feeling entirely charmed by Holly’s delicate balance of confidence and tenderness, Evelyn was quickly infatuated. Holly was beautiful, bold and had the brains to go anywhere she wanted. Evelyn had been ecstatic to be dating someone who could have an intelligent conversation someone who could challenge her.

She spent weeks pursuing Holly. They had gone on a few of dates, but Holly told Evelyn she wasn’t ready for a relationship. That didn’t stop Evelyn from sending Holly hand written letters, leaving voice mails, and sending thoughtful packages. By doing all of this Evelyn was sure she could win Holly’s heart. At first the two of them were inseparable using any thinkable excuse to see one another. Long nights didn’t seem so bad when they ended in a visit from Holly in Evelyn’s dorm room.

However, infatuation turned to obsession. What used to be study filled nights turned into Evelyn on the phone in the hall way of her dorm all the way into the wee hours of the morning. There were soon more days of school Evelyn had missed than attended. The passion she felt for hew new found love was indescribable.

Slowly though Holly started to put space between them. She stopped returning Evelyn’s calls, she wouldn’t write back, and even Winston would ask what Holly had been up to on Evelyn’s behalf. About the only time they talked was when Evelyn made time in her busy schedule to travel across town to DevTech herself during Holly’s shift. Evelyn would drop by for a short time trying her best to get in to Holly’s good graces. There were countless hours Evelyn had spent fretting over what she had done to make Holly distance herself from her. Any chance she could Evelyn would pry as to why Holly was giving her the cold shoulder.

After a while, the gap was too hard to ignore. Holly finished her internship, used Winston as a reference for a job then disappeared Even with the distance that Holly had put between them, it still hurt. Despite her best efforts of making herself vulnerable by opening up to someone and giving them her all Evelyn understood it as not enough.

In Evelyn’s eyes this had been a self-fulfilling prophecy. Through her whole life she had built this barrier between herself and interpersonal relationships out of fear of being hurt. Now after all this time she had allowed herself to succumb to her suppressed desire for the companionship of another woman. All it got her was what she had always feared. She decided it was best to just stay jaded.

Even now she wouldn’t even begin to entertain the idea of going down that road again. And she hated herself for getting close to Hellen.

To get it out of her mind Evelyn decided it was best to just bite the bullet and just write the letters today.

. . .

‘Alright, round two.’

Standing in the doorway of the office Evelyn stretched her skinny arms outwards from her body as she rolled her head back and forth.

Letting out a wide yawn she fell backwards into the office chair. As soon as her body hit the chair, she was immediately filled with anguish coupled with dull pain. Her head throbbed from her eye sockets to the base of her skull.

‘God. That was fucking horrible.’

Even before breakfast had occurred to her Evelyn had searched the house for more alcohol to stop the pain she so lovingly brought upon herself. All she had was the empty bottle of whisky from the night before. There wasn’t even ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet.

Getting these letters written was about the only thing Evelyn had to distract herself. Evelyn knew the letter to the city would be easiest. She had written proposals for DevTech before. And that’s all this was, right? Presenting a proposition that a non-person entity forgive her based on this calculated apology.

‘Ridiculous. A city? What does that even mean. It’s dumb but at least it’s easy.’

There wasn’t much too it. After a couple of rough drafts then some simple edits Evelyn felt it was good enough. It wasn’t short enough to seem completely apathetic, but it wasn’t so wordy that too much could be used against her and her brother either.

Evelyn did feel bad. Bad in a way that she knew that people would have gotten hurt. People would almost certainly have died had they not evacuated the city quick enough. But Evelyn knew that if she could take the secure feeling that supers gave them, she could ultimately save more people in the end. That’s what she had thought at least. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

Now to make some final edits to this letter to The City and it would be done. Stuck on the sentence structure of first line of the final paragraph Evelyn started tapping the pencil eraser end against the desk.

An envelope slid from leaning against the wall flat on the desk. Eyes locked on the envelope, Evelyn was still. Why? Why was she so scared to confront that damned letter? There it sat with the name ‘Helen’ in large cursive.

‘Come on Evelyn, get it together.’

With one quick swipe she grabbed the envelope. The ‘H’ was particularly bold and carefully written. Evelyn only wrote that way when she really put meaning into it.

Pausing Evelyn was wanting any excuse not to open it. There weren’t even any words in the letter she could see through the envelope to keep her from opening it.

Flipping the envelope over Evelyn slid her index finger into the corner opening of the envelop. Just as she did, Evelyn noticed a bit of pink poking out from the peak of the flap. It was a good color she liked it.

“Oh. My God.”

It was the lipstick she was wearing the day before. Her heart skipped a beat as her face flushed red. Evelyn pulled the letter in close to her chest covering it as though there were others watching.


End file.
